REMISSION ORDERS AND THE LAW

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 192, 15 August 1941, Page 6

REMISSION ORDERS AND THE LAW

THE Government seems to have gone to unusual lengths to ensure that the sentence of flogging passed by the Supreme Court, and confirmed by the Court of Appeal, should not be carried out. In perusal of the statute relating to flogging there will not be found any provision for the remission of such a sentence; nevertheless, the Minister of Justice said yesterday that the Governor-General had signed the "remission order," on the advice of the Ministry. In view of this statement, and the importance of the case, the Minister might wall be requested to describe the procedure which was invoked. Was his Excellency advised to exercise the prerogative of mercy? The difficulty of supporting such advice, in this case, is apparent, and it may not be unconnected with the fact that the Vice-Regal signature was not obtained until the six months, within which the flogging order should have been carried out, had almost expired. However that may be, the Government intends to introduce legislation to abolish flogging. Will it also abolish capital punishment? In effect it has done so, for all capital sentences passed since it came to power have "been commuted. That means that when a man is tried for murder he is not, in fact, "on trial for his life," but the Court has to pretend that he is. If he is found guilty the judge assumes the black cap and solemnly pronounces sentence of death, though he, and the prisoner, and all other people, know that he is uttering a form of words. If it is the fixed determination of the Government hot to permit executions, it should amend the law. This law, and any other law, should mean what it appears to mean, or it should be repealed.